Boom boosts spray returns

The arrival of new air boom technology to one of Australia's most popular, front-mounted self-propelled sprayers is now official.

The Miller Spray-Air system, which won best new machine release awards at machinery field days in 2010 and has been an option with its Condor rear sprayers, is now available with its preferred platform, the Miller Nitro front-mounted units.

Jon Bent, with Miller's Australian distributor McIntosh Distribution, said the first Miller Nitro sprayers with the technology would hit Australian shores in August before a national dealer release and displays at most agricultural field days.

The proven managed spray droplet control system promises improved application efficiency and greater return on spraying investment for growers.

In Canada, it has achieved desired spraying results with half of the normal amount of water and chemicals applied, thereby also allowing environmental benefits.

Mr Bent said compared with more expensive droplet control systems, the Miller Spray-Air technology offered both managed droplet control and deep canopy penetration.

It combines the benefits of both air-assist and air-atomisation into one powerful spray nozzle system.

Growers have fingertip control of the droplet size, spray pattern and speed of the air blast spraying into their crops on the go.

The optimum-sized droplets (coarse, medium or very fine), which are created by patented Shear Guard Plus Air Nozzles spaced every 25cm along the air boom, are not affected by speed and pressure changes, ensuring uniform application.

The nozzles blast the droplets deep into crop canopies, ensuring complete top-to-bottom leaf surface coverage.

The smaller controlled droplets and directed air blast allows efficient water and chemical usage.

Mr Bent said the Miller Spray-Air system with the Nitro platform offered growers a range of application options.

"They can use it as a conventional boomspray; they can use the air with the standard nozzle droplets to assist penetration; or they can adjust the droplet size and go with or without the air," he said.

"They can also apply a dribble band of liquid fertiliser using the nozzles, which could allow higher application rates compared with conventional spraying."

Mr Bent said the Miller Nitros with Spray-Air would be ideally suited to broadacre cereal, pulse and oilseed crops, row crops such as cotton and specialty vegetable crops.

They will also be valuable in sensitive mixed farming areas to help control spray drift.

"They will provide benefits for hitting weeds in cereals as well as crops like beans and chickpeas; for lots of diseases, where growers want good penetration; and for desiccation of canola and cotton," he said.

"Growers can have problems effectively desiccating cotton - sometimes it can take up to three to four passes. If we can get that back to a single pass, it will be promising."

Mr Bent said the Miller Spray-Air technology offered growers improved disease and weed control, including of herbicide-resistant weeds.